it?" inquired Jack, who continued advancing towards the Arabs.

"Dey let goee if not shootee," answered Hamed.

"Tell them that, though they deserve to be punished for daring to
capture Her Majesty's officers, I will not injure them if they will
inform me in what direction our friends have gone," said Jack.

Hamed on this appeared greatly relieved, and a long parley ensued
between him and the Arabs. Their chief, a ragged old fellow, with
somewhat tattered, though once rich, garments, stepped forward, and,
making a profound salaam, uttered a long address, which Hamed briefly
interpreted. "He say you pay him a hundred dollars, he takee where
English stop, and fightee black fellows." The Arab himself and his
followers were as black as negroes, by the bye, having probably more
African than Asiatic blood in their veins.

"The rascals!" exclaimed Jack; "why, we are sparing their lives, and
they have the impudence to name their own terms. Tell them we'll shoot
every one of them if they refuse to guide us to our friends."

Hamed had another talk with the chief. "He say very well, you shootee
his people, and be no wiser than at first."

"The old fellow's got sense in his brains," observed Jack, "and as we
can't pay him the dollars till we get back to the ship, the bribe may
prevent him from acting treacherously and leading us into an ambush.
Tell him that if through his means we recover our friends, I promise him
the hundred dollars, though he must come on board my ship to receive
them."

The old slave-dealer again salaamed, and, through Hamed, expressed his
perfect satisfaction with the arrangements. Jack would gladly have set
off at once, for he suspected, from what Hamed had learned from the
chief, that Adair and his crew must be very hard pressed, and destitute
both of provisions and water. The Arabs looked greatly astonished at
the strong force which landed, and became very humble and submissive.
Perhaps Jack might have saved the hundred dollars, which were certain to
be employed in the slave-trade, had he waited the arrival of the other
boats. He had, however, promised them, and there was no help for it; he
could only hope that the old fellow and his crew might be caught with a
full cargo of slaves on board their dhow.

To Jack's surprise, instead of proceeding south, their guides led the
way to the northward. Hamed explained that so large a force had
appeared in the south, that the shipwrecked crew had be